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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29621970">The Alley Cat and The Beetle</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rverfades/pseuds/rverfades'>rverfades</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste Is Not Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Has a Crush on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Chaotic Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chat Noir Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Lady Noir, Good Chloé Bourgeois, Kwami Swap, Ladybug Adrien Agreste | Mister Bug, Miraculous Holder Chloé Bourgeois, Miraculous Team, Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Ox Lê Chiến Kim, Ox Miraculous, Team as Family, They know each others identities, adrien agreste is a dork, because its stupid that they cant, laughing as i burn canon to the ground, marinette! has! a! pixie! cut!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:00:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>746</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29621970</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rverfades/pseuds/rverfades</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette grew up on the streets of Gotham, stolen from her home in Paris; living without a last name or a family of her own.</p><p>Adrien grew up isolated by his wealthy father in a cold and empty mansion in Paris.</p><p>Things are different than they were meant to be, but it doesn’t change the fact that these two are fated to be together.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Chloé Bourgeois, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Tikki, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Dick Grayson, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Jason Todd, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Lê Chiến Kim, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Nino Lahiffe, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Plagg, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Selina Kyle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Alley Cat and The Beetle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Selina Kyle was a thief--not a monster. Not like the people this little girl must have escaped from.</p><p>(marinette dupain-cheng was a missing girl from paris, france. mari is a girl on the streets of the biggest crime capital of the world. they are the same person, but completely different.)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Let it be known that Selina Kyle, known more commonly on the streets of Gotham as Cat Woman, didn’t hate children. Yes, she didn’t necessarily want to birth any of her own, but that didn’t mean she disliked them. In fact, she regularly helped the kids of Crime Alley--the ones that would let her, at least--and she enjoyed seeing the fear melt away to suspicious gratitude (it was the most she ever really saw from those kids, so she let it be).</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Which is why, when she saw that little girl, dirty and mussed like many of the others, but crying and bloody and so obviously new to the hellhole that was Gotham, Selina didn’t hesitate to take her under her wing.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Selina Kyle was a thief--not a monster. Not like the people this little girl must have escaped from.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The kid’s name is Mari, she doesn’t remember her last name well but she thinks she had two of them, she’s seven, she thinks, but she doesn’t know for sure. And with how dirty her clothes are, and how much bigger she is than them despite being so skinny and gaunt, Selina believes it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>They have trouble keeping conversations up in the days after, what with Mari being so tiny and shaken and only knowing what English she no doubt picked up on the streets, but when Mari begins starting them, Selina very nearly cries. Over the course of several months, the two grow closer and closer, little by little. Selina tries never to force Mari into doing anything she doesn’t want to--she still remembered the time she tried to coax the girl into taking a bath, near the beginning of their time together, how Mari screeched like a wounded kitten, clawing and biting in her attempt of getting away, and it broke Selina’s heart--instead letting Mari open herself up to doing things others would do without a second thought.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Like sleeping on the sofa (instead of under the table), or actually brushing her teeth (as opposed to simply washing it out with water and fleeing the bathroom as quickly as she could).</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Mari was difficult, she was stubborn when she really wanted to be, and moreover, Mari was a traumatized kid who had unspeakable things done to her. She was Selina’s kit, and no one would ever take them away from one another.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Nino was grumpy, yes, but that was for a simple reason.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That reason being, that he Did Not Want to be here. Clutching his suitcase with an iron grip with one hand while the other was clasped to Kim’s arm, looking into the chaotic crown of the airport, Nino clenched his jaw.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On any other day, Nino would actually think this trip would be cool--it may be the Crime Capital of basically the world, but the higher up, more rich part is supposed to be seriously gorgeous--it’s just that the day fell upon a very, very bad one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The anniversary of Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s disappearance. The anniversary of one of his childhood best friend’s disappearance, maybe even death.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Today was a day he would normally be curled up in his room, crying and on FaceTime with Kim, who would be in a similar position--instead, he was in a place that was</span>
  <em>
    <span> too fucking loud, and too fucking crowded, please get him out of here!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However, the school said the trip was “too important to miss, as it could directly impact your future!” who the fuck cares? Not Nino, that’s for sure! Not Kim, who is looking just as frustrated and downtrodden as him. Certainly not Chloe, who was hiding her--no doubt red and puffy--eyes under tinted sunglasses. Not even Adrien, who didn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> Marinette, but knew how much the others care about her even after so long.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino felt Adrien touch his shoulder softly, and the blond boy sent him a gentle smile once he turned his way. He gulped, and mustered up the most real smile he possibly could, before it settled back into that sad frown that had been practically glued onto his face since he woke up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino… he just missed his friend, so, so much. It hurt so much it didn’t hurt anymore--and that was the worst pain of it all; the numbness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hoped they could get this trip over with without any drama, though with Lila and her lying tendencies, he knows that’ll never happen.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Next chapter you’ll get some young!marinette stealing the black cat ring from fu (lmao he knows exactly what’s going on, he’s orchestrating this shit), present!marinette making a deal with a broker, past!adrien becoming beetle, and present!adrien’s thoughts on marinette and the trip as they sign into the hotel!</p><p>Hope you enjoyed, even if it was a bit short!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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